nimrod77 Posted March 21, 2004 Share Posted March 21, 2004 Hi All, Im having problems with my xtracolour paints. First coat went down fine using general purpose thinners. Second coat makes the first coat crocodile (Alligator). Ive tried this three times with GP thinners and white spirits with the same result. Has anyone had this problem before, and/ or does anyone have any suggestions on how to fix it? Cheers, Nathan Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Graham T Posted March 21, 2004 Share Posted March 21, 2004 I use a lot of this paint on all my models but never encountered this problem. The makers recommend the use of white spirit to thin & until recently this is what I've used but the last time, I used cellulose thinners as I heard that this sped up the drying time...not much difference In my opinion. Sorry I can't be of more help! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Andy Mullen Posted March 21, 2004 Share Posted March 21, 2004 Nathan Ive only just started to use Xtracolor Enamels, and Ive found that using White (Mineral) Spirits to thin works just as well as with Humbrol Enamels. However the drying time is about 24 hours between coats as opposed to 6 hours with Humbrol In the near future I shall be using Lacquer (Cellulose) Thinners to see if that changes the drying time, as it has halfed it whilst used with the Humbrols. HTH Quote Link to post Share on other sites
MickeyThickey Posted March 21, 2004 Share Posted March 21, 2004 The main reason for the relatively longer drying time is the fact that Xtracolor paints are gloss, and gloss paints take longer to dry. Per the OP, no idea what could be causing the problem - just how rough is it, is it orange peeled, or is the layer underneath physically cracking or crazing? If it's just orange peeled (fairly smooth surface but with hills and valleys, not unlike an orange peel :lol:), play with your thinner ratio and spraying pressure. If it's crazing or cracking... less thinner, maybe? Lacquer/cellulose thinner does seem to speed up the drying process (as much as can be done with gloss enamels), though too much thinner can attack underlying layers of paint and/or the plastic itself. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Autobahnstormer Posted March 21, 2004 Share Posted March 21, 2004 Nimrod, This has happened to me twice. I used Testors aerosol laquer, and the paint crinkled on me. I was not a happy hector, I can tell you. Xtracolour does not like solvents. The best I can recommend is as above - use mineral spirits, or turpentine. Any use of solvents will react with the paint and it will result in another ruined scheme. Admittedly waiting 24 hours for the paint to dry is a pain, but as stated above, gloss paints always do take a while. Hope this hepls Phil Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sam747 Posted March 22, 2004 Share Posted March 22, 2004 Hi, I will admit with Mickey and autobahnstormer that Xtracolors do take alot more time to dry then regular enamel paints, I painted my Pepsi concorde with Xtracolor Sabina blue X335 and it took months (spring and whole summer) to fully cure and it took couple weeks before it dried enough to be handled but still was tackey to touch. I used Testors paint thinner and layed down misty layers of coats and gave them 24+hrs between each coat to dry before i applied another coat, with xtracolor its longer process but if you are paitient enough you will be pleased with the results. As for aligator effect i dont think its to do with thinners that you are using but it more sounds to me as you are putting heavy coats and not giving enough time in between coats to dry. I recommend using Xtracolor paints because they are the closest match to actual aircraft's color, when i was doing Airtransat's A310 i took same Sabina blue X335 to work with me and compaired it right against engine cowling and i was surprised that both blues were realisticly identical in color and shade!. Sam747 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kasatka Posted April 3, 2004 Share Posted April 3, 2004 it've been 5 days since I painted my model using Extracolor... And it is still wet..=( How long should I wait.. How many weeks? =) I mixed the paint very well and used Xtracolor Quick Dry Thinner to thin the pain before airbrushing... Today I started drying the model myself.. using hair-drier =).. Did not help a lot.. Now the model is in the oven.. with 45 degress temperature.. :wacko: Still alive.. :D Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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